Thursday, 25 September 2014

Chloe Kennedy, 17 years old and once quite normal; but
alas no more. Now Chloe is motherless awash in grief and haunted by the dead,
she thought she had banished from her life. Sent halfway around the world with
her grandmother and brother in tow Chloe soon meets Alex, a boy carrying his
own burden of grief and loss. An unlikely friendship is forged in their common
grief and soon Chloe is learning to accept and live with her new life
circumstances; a life without her mother but plenty of ghosts. However as the
past and the present begin to collide in dangerous ways it will be up to Chloe
to settle the past even if it might risk her future.

There is an old saying that things get better with age
and this rings true in respect the writing talents of Adornetto. First
published at 13 I have been a reader of Adornetto’s for many years and have
enjoyed watching with each series her novels mature. Ghost House is her
most sophisticated tale yet, adding her own twists to the traditional ghosts
stories, Adornetto has created a story and characters uniquely her own. As with
all her books what stands out here is Adornetto’s way with words; she manages
to forge strong connections between the reader and the characters, especially
in regards to the protagonist Chloe, whose every emotion from grief, to anger
to indignation seeps through the pages and into the reader. Chloe is a pleasure
to read, she is real in her emotions and actions, and manages to be sarcastic
without being rude. She is an engaging and likeable protagonists who will have
you hooked on reading. Alex, is an untraditional male protagonists, he is not
billed at the “flawlessly perfect” male of most YA fiction these days, which is
refreshing and I like that he remains a man of his time, for not only is it
realistic but it also makes for some interesting interactions between the
characters. Ghost house is a story that will excite you, there are some
fantastical and unpredictable plot twists that make this a page turner and the
characters themselves are so endearing that you will find it hard to let go.
Get excited about this one, it is perhaps the best writing so far of one of Australia’s
most promising writers. I absolutely cannot wait to see where Adornetto take
this…because I have no idea and I love that.

Thursday, 18 September 2014

“His tone changed. Thrusting his face at mine, he told me
threateningly, ‘you’d best take care. More than one thing can sting under this
roof.’”

The devil walks is a story set in the 19th century
about a boy named Daniel Cunningham whose name isn't really Cunningham. He is a blank
page upon which anything might be written that has been hidden away from the
outside world and told he suffers from a mysterious illness (even though he
isn’t) by his mother who has stolen away his childhood he can not understand
why until a forceful knock at the door reveals just how many secrets his silent
and protective mother has kept from him and how many she’s told. Torn away from
his home Daniel slowly piece’s together a chilling legacy of vicious cruelty
and fiendish spite that has gripped his family for years

Tuesday, 16 September 2014

Horns by Joe Hill is an interesting book. It depicts the tale of Ig, a man who had just lost his girlfriend who was murdered. People suspect him for the crime and his life becomes a living hell. Ig wakes up one morning to find out he has grown demon horns. He finds out that the horns make others tell him their secrets. He can also control people based on what they have said to him. Ig then decides to use this ability to find out who murdered his girlfriend, and get revenge.

At first I read this very slowly, as I had other things going on but as soon as I found the time to read I was stuck into the book. At first I thought it was boring, with no development happening. I then read on and found it really interesting. Ig is an interesting character, a man who had lost everything he had loved and now cannot stop hearing people’s secrets. Ig is portrayed as kind of gloomy, always looking at the past with his girlfriend and trying to find out who had murdered her. Ig’s best friend Lee is portrayed as a shifty kind of character, always acting suspicious and doing suspicious things. Lee is by far the most interesting character in the book, with his lost eye and his shifty attitude.

The book also plays on a bit of religion, with Ig being more of a demon while Lee is more of an angel or god. The book also explains that Ig’s power cannot work on people wearing an holy item (e.g. a cross). This also pushes the religious aspect up. The book also has some parts played in a church, with the priests scared of Ig, as he has demon horns and demon powers. The religion that is displayed in the book however, is very limited, which is a very good thing.

In the end Horns is a very good book, depicting Ig’s journey to find his girlfriends killer. I would recommend this book to people who don’t mind reading something a bit adult, or are fans of things to do with demons and angels. The book is also getting a movie in the upcoming years, with it staring Daniel Radcliffe as Ig. I would recommend this book to those aged 15+

Tuesday, 9 September 2014

The Minnow by Diana Sweeney is the winner of the Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing 2013.

I procrastinated for quite a while before I read this book. A pregnant teenager whose family had died in a flood? No thanks, I'll read something else.

But when I finally opened the book I couldn't put it down.
The cover is eye-catching - dark and beckoning - filled with sea creatures and underwater life. It also sets the mood for the novel.
And that is what I so loved about the book - a style and mood that sets it apart - dreamy and flowing.

The main character in the book is a girl called Tom who lives with a much older bloke called Bill since the death of her parents and sister.
Tom is pregnant with Bill's baby and she can no longer stay with Bill. She moves in with her friend Jonah who is helpful and supportive, as are others in her community.
As Tom works through her grief she communicates in an unlikely way with marine creatures and with her unborn child whom she names 'the minnow.'

This is a beautifully written novel that I recommend to those who love reading high quality YA fiction.

Friday, 5 September 2014

Celaena Sardothien
can no longer run, no longer hide. Heartbroken, lost and sent to the other side
of the world, home of her ancestors, Celaena will embark on a journey to fulfil the oath she made to
her perished Celaena to finally face the past
and herself. Learning to accept her Fae heritage and magic will only be the
beginning of Celaena’s
journey from infamous assassin to reigning Queen. However there is more to the
King’s reign than Celaena
could have ever imagined and defeat will come at a cost. The pieces are in
play, moves are being made and war is about to rage. What will Celaena choose? Run or fight.
There will be no second chances.

friend. However fulfilling such an oath will require

Heir of Fire is by far
the best book of this series; everything finally comes together in this
thrilling, edge of your seat read. The old of characters return; Celaena’s past finally comes to
light giving the reader further insight into her actions thus far; Dorian
continues to grow although as with the last book he doesn’t appear as much as I
would like; Chaol continues to play his role of helper of all failing to
demonstrate an ability to make decisions for himself and the King proves to be
more cunning than first thought. There is also a host of new characters such as
Manon, a witch who is quite unlikable, and despite thawing out during the book
I struggled to make it through her chapters, Sorcha a healer who attracts
Dorian’s attention but has secrets of her own, Aedion the traitorous cousin and
Roland the mystery Fae who intrigues not only Celaena but the reader as well. Each new character
brings a new depth to the older characters and the plot overall. The
descriptive nature of the text is engaging and it was refreshing to alternate
between the different perspectives of the characters, as it added more layers
to the overall story. Again as with its predecessors I was enthralled with the
world Maas has built and the supernatural aspects she has effortlessly woven
in. The plot twists along with the host of new characters makes for compelling
reading and revitalises the story in exciting, new and unexpected ways. This
book is literally a page-turner; a stunning new sequel in what is fast becoming
one of my favourite YA series.